Banks report big decline in non-performing loans

All Chinese commercial banks achieved a significant drop in non-performing loan ratio in 2008, according to data released on Friday by China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

The other major indicators commonly applied to test the strength of the Chinese banking system also exceeded all regulatory requirements, CBRC said.

Non-performing loan of the country's major commercial banks at the end of 2008 dropped by 706.5 billion yuan from a year earlier to 494.4 billion yuan, bringing the average non-performing loan ratio down 4.24 percentage points to 2.49 percent, the CBRC figures showed.